In a 10-page letter penned to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, the Florida Department of Government Efficiency — in partnership with the state’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and the office of policy and budget — notified the county of a two-day audit of its spending.
“Over the last five years, the taxpayers of Orange County have watched as your county government has increased burdens on property owners to the annual tune of $330 million in additional ad valorem tax collections – an increase of over 50%,” the letter said. “This has been part of a growth in annual total expenditures of over $1.6 billion over the past five years, which represents a 57% increase in spending. Having entrusted their governments with the power to tax, the citizens of Florida have a right to expect their elected officials will spend the collected funds responsibly, not recklessly, and on truly necessary programs. (Florida) Gov. (Ron) DeSantis has charged the Florida DOGE team … with identifying and reporting on excessive spending at the county and municipal levels.”
The notification letter went on to advise that under various provisions of the state constitution that DOGE, on behalf of the authority of DeSantis, will be conducting its audit from Tuesday, Aug. 5, to Wednesday, Aug. 6, and will request access to the county’s physical premises, data systems, responsive personnel and whatever else is needed to comply with the detailed requests made in the letter…